A Little Understanding
by AliasCWN
Summary: Dietrich tries to understand what makes Troy tick.
1. Chapter 1

**A Little Understanding**

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 1

The hot desert sun beat down without mercy on the four men as they staggered across the sand. One of them stumbled and fell to his knees.

"Sarge!" Mark Hitchcock stopped and reached down for Tully's arm. His call stopped the two sergeants in their tracks.

Tully shook him off and climbed unsteadily to his feet. "I'm okay."

"Take a break." Troy ordered. Raising an arm that felt like it weighed a ton; the sergeant shaded his eyes as he squinted up at the sun. The lazy yellow orb was taking its own sweet time making its way across the sky. In the meantime it was making Troy and his team very uncomfortable. Sliding the strap of a canteen off of his shoulder, Troy handed the canteen to Tully. "Take it easy, we have a long way to go."

"Come now Troy, do you really think Dietrich is going to wait until we reach some kind of shelter?" Moffitt dropped to the ground next to the two younger rats and looked up at Troy.

"No, not really, but I'm not ready to give up just yet. You never know just when an opportunity will present itself." Troy glanced over his shoulder to see how far behind them the German column was following.

Dietrich had had his driver stop as soon as the four of them had dropped to the ground. Troy could see him smiling and talking to his driver while they enjoyed a drink of water. Only they had all they wanted, and they were riding in comfort across the sand while they waited for the Allied soldiers to wear themselves out.

"Look at them." Hitch snorted in disgust. "You'd think they took out both of our jeeps with skill rather than luck."

"There may have been some skill involved." Moffitt suggested gently.

"Maybe Dietrich's been making them practice their shooting." Tully drawled tiredly. He sucked on his matchstick, trying to preserve the moisture in his mouth.

"I still think it was mostly luck." Hitch declared stubbornly.

"Whatever it was, there's no sense arguing about it, it's done." Troy growled. "Save your strength." Shaking the canteens on his shoulder, he glanced around at his men.

Tully looked the worst. He was still recovering from an earlier injury and he wasn't up to full strength yet. He had been shot during a raid on a fuel dump and had just returned to duty. The hot, dry walk was not agreeing with him. Troy could see the tired slump of his shoulders despite Tully's verbal reassurances. He hadn't set a fast pace because he knew that Tully would try to keep up even if it killed him. The lean private wouldn't want to hold them back no matter how bad he felt. Tully's skin was covered by a fine grit that clung to the sweat that still seeped from his pores. Al least there was still enough water left in his body to sweat.

And they still had water. Troy carried their canteens; all six of them; but only one still contained water. He was reluctant to drop them, just in case they found a source of water where they could refill them. Water on the desert was more precious than gold.

Troy looked at his driver with a frown. "What's wrong Hitch?"

"I twisted my ankle. It's okay Sarge, I can walk on it."

Troy had noticed the blonde's limp but he had put it down to exhaustion. Hitch had shouldered most of the burden of helping keep Tully on his feet. Both of the privates looked to be near the end of their endurance. Now, seeing Hitch rubbing his ankle, he wondered how much further the two younger rats could go. He looked toward the German column again but they were still sitting in the same spot, just watching.

"He's waiting for us to wear ourselves out. Why risk injury to his men and damage to his machines when he can just sit back and let the desert defeat us." Moffitt sagged against Tully and gratefully accepted the canteen from the private.

"We're not done yet."

"By the time Dietrich picks us up we won't have enough strength left to offer any resistance. He'll just have his men pluck us up off of the sand and throw us into the back of a halftrack. We'll be back at his base before we find the energy to even complain."

"Complain? To who? Dietrich would really get a kick out of that." Troy laughed without humor.

"My point exactly old man." Moffitt nodded. "We're giving him just what he wants."

Troy looked at his men again and frowned in thought. They stayed on the ground longer than he wanted, but they needed the rest. He was itching to move, to keep trying to escape, despite the odds. He knew that the others were with him, no matter what. They would fight to the death if he told them that that was what he wanted, only it wasn't. He wanted them all to live. If they surrendered now, they might survive. Dietrich was an honorable man; he would probably ignore the directive from Berlin concerning commandos and just send them to a POW camp. He'd done it before. But Troy felt responsible for all of the men, and once they were sent to a POW camp there was no guarantee that they would all be kept together. There was no way he could protect the younger men there, they could be separated or killed in any number of ways. There had to be a way out of this mess!

"Okay let's go!"

Moffitt and Hitch helped Tully to his feet. Tully protested, saying he was fine, but the others knew better. Hitch hobbled along, trying to downplay the injury to his ankle. Moffitt shouldered his own weapon, plus Tully's, plus the few rations they had managed to salvage from the jeeps.

A few cartons of k-rations, about half a canteen of water, four exhausted men, two of them suffering from more than just heat and thirst; Troy shook his head and led the way.

An hour later and Dietrich had still not made his move. He was still hanging back and letting the desert do his work for him. Troy noticed that the trail his small team was leaving behind was weaving back and forth like the tracks of a hound dog looking for a scent. Troy laughed at the image; they were the rabbits and Dietrich was the hound dog, and the dog definitely had the scent. The Germans were relaxing in their vehicles and probably laughing at their doomed prey. Troy began to formulate a plan.

"Okay, take a rest."

Tully groaned in relief as he settled to the sand. He had been falling more and more often and getting up slower. Hitch had tried to support him but his buddy was having problems of his own.

Hitch lowered himself to the ground, taking care not to put much weight on his injured ankle. Tully chuckled as Hitch sighed and leaned back onto the sand.

"Is your ankle swelled Hitch?" Troy asked of the blond.

His driver looked up in surprise. Troy could see the exhaustion in his features. His face was sunburned and there were dry spots where he had fallen and the sand had sucked the moisture from his skin. Even his usually lively eyes had taken on a dull appearance.

"It's okay Sarge."

"Is there any swelling?" Troy repeated more forcefully.

"Yeah, a little." The blond admitted reluctantly.

"Black and blue?"

"Maybe a little."

Troy nodded and scooted over closer to his driver. He glanced toward the Germans to see if they could see what he was doing. Before Hitch could react Troy took the stock of his machine gun and hit the blond on the sore ankle.

"Ow!" Hitch jerked away in surprise.

"Now it will be black and blue."

"Sarge!" Hitch rubbed his ankle and glared at his sergeant.

Troy looked toward the Germans again. "Hitch, your ankle is swollen and black and blue. I think you need a splint."

"A splint? Where are we going to get a splint out here?"

Troy turned to Tully. "Do you have your slingshot with you?"

Tully nodded, keeping his eye on Troy.

"Give it to me."

Tully reached into his shirt and pulled out the item that Troy wanted. It wasn't the original one that Troy had made him; Tully had refined it, making it smaller and easier to carry. The forked wood was gnarled but strong; Tully had smoothed it until it was comfortable in his hand. The thin strips of rubber were the same ones as was the small piece of leather originally from the tongue of Tully's boot.

Troy took the slingshot and dismantled it as the others watched. He put the wood against his drives injured ankle. "By putting the y at the bottom it will support your ankle better." He explained.

Hitch nodded and began to remove his belt to hold it in place.

"No, that will slip off. We'll tie it on with these strips of rubber. They'll give you support while having enough stretch to let you walk." Troy tied the wood tight against his driver's ankle using the rubber strips. Looking up at the youth's tight features, he adjusted the tension a little bit. "Too tight?"

"No, it's good Sarge."

"Okay, don't let anyone take that off."

The blond nodded.

"Here Tully, a souvenir." He handed Tully the small piece of leather from the tongue of his boot. "Keep it, you never know when it might come in handy."

Tully nodded and slipped the leather into his pants pocket.

"Do you still carry stones those stones you saved for the slingshot?"

"Yeah." The Kentuckian nodded. He reached into another pocket and pulled out about a dozen small, round stones.

Troy took them and passed them out, dividing them equally. "Keep these in your pockets to put in your mouth when we run out of water."

The others nodded and pocketed the stones.

"We may as well eat, there's no sense carrying the k-rations when we can eat them."

The others looked at him like he had gone crazy, but they obeyed. Moffitt broke out the packets and they shared them equally. They ate them cold but no one really tasted them anyway. Everyone was too exhausted to even complain about the lack of taste. When they were finished Moffitt glanced at the canteen and asked permission with his eyes.

"Go ahead." Troy agreed. "Take a good drink; we're leaving all of the canteens behind." TH others looked startled at the order. Moffitt looked as if he wanted to argue but he held his tongue. They let Tully take the first drink; Troy finished it off after the other two had had their share. Tossing the canteen to the ground next to the other empty ones, Troy staggered to his feet. Moffitt reached out to steady him as he swayed and nearly fell. Weaving on his feet, he took the lead again. The others followed wordlessly, trusting him no matter what.

"Hitch, I know that leg hurts, don't try so hard to hide the pain." Troy had been watching his driver try to hide his limp. The kid was keeping up but it was getting harder. Hitch opened his mouth to deny it but Troy shook his head. He could see the truth in the tight set of his mouth.

"I can make it Sarge."

"I know you can, but lean on me. Moffitt can help Tully."

"I'm fine Sarge." Tully protested.

"Lean on Moffitt." Tully looked like he wanted to argue so Troy growled at him. "Lean on Moffitt, that's an order."

Hitch and Tully looked at each other and kept their silence. The two younger men leaned on their sergeants and tried their best to keep up.

Troy set a slower pace as they struggled along in the loose sand. Sometimes their feet would slip out from under them and they would slide down the slope. More and more they were falling. When that happened they would pick themselves up and go on. No one spoke, they were all too tired. They paused at one point and Troy had them all put pebbles in their moths to stimulate saliva.

"Troy!"

Troy paused as Moffitt and Tully fell again.

"We can't go on this way." Moffitt gasped. "Tully can barely walk and we're no closer to escape than we were three hours ago."

Troy nodded his agreement. Hitch was limping more and the struggle to keep him on his feet was wearing on Troy too.

"All right. Dietrich wins this round. Put your weapons in a pile and we'll walk on a little way until Dietrich comes to collect us." Troy dropped his machine gun in the sand and stood swaying on his feet.

Hitch sat down and put his machine gun next to Troy's. Then he added the knife that he carried on his leg. He was sitting there working the brim of his hat in his hands when Moffitt stepped forward to add his weapons. Tully passed his to his sergeant and watched as they were added to the pile.

Troy saw him looking at his knife and smiled. "Dietrich will have us searched for weapons. He'd take it anyway." Tully only nodded in reply. "Okay, is everybody ready?' The others nodded. "Then let's go."

"You don't want to shake it?" Moffitt teased in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Doctor, I don't think any of us have the energy to shake it, even if we had anything to shake."

Moffitt laughed, not amused by the truth, just glad that the end to their nightmare was in sight.

The four of them continued walking, waiting for the German column to catch up with them. As soon as Dietrich saw the weapons he would know that he had won.

"That's far enough Sergeant." Dietrich's voice over the bullhorn stopped them in their tracks. At Troy's command they all put their hands behind their heads and waited for the Germans to catch up to them.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Little Understanding**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 2

"I'm glad you finally came to your senses Sergeant." Dietrich stood watching as his men searched the prisoners.

"What can I say Captain, I've been called a stubborn man."

"You made your men suffer for nothing."

Troy glanced at his men, noting their defiance despite their obvious exhaustion. He wouldn't give the order, but he knew without a doubt, if he did tell them to fight, they would still try to fight their way out of this situation. He smiled at Dietrich and shrugged. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"I've heard that quote Sergeant, but I wouldn't count on it. It looks like it only made them weaker. They appear to be totally exhausted."

Troy couldn't deny the evidence so he stayed silent. He did appreciate the German captain's play on words though. The quote hadn't meant, in the physical sense, and they both knew it.

"What is wrong with your privates?' Dietrich had noticed that both of the younger rats seemed to have more than just the expected issues.

"Tully is still recovering from an injury he got two weeks ago. He isn't up to full strength yet. Hitch sprained his ankle. I put a splint on it. He's okay."

"I'll have my medics look at them."

"Don't bother Captain." Troy regretted the words as soon as he said them. The German suddenly looked suspicious. Forcing a smile, Troy tried to brush it off. "Tully just needs rest. He'll get that on the ride to your base. And Hitch's ankle is only sprained. I tied a piece of wood on it to give it support. He won't be walking on it for a while so it will be okay. We wouldn't want you thinking we were indebted to you for anything…because we're not going to tell you squat."

Dietrich stared at him for a minute and then nodded. "Very well Sergeant, it can wait. If either one of them changes their mind they can ask for a doctor."

"Don't hold your breath."

Dietrich sighed. "Sergeant, the Geneva Convention demands that I address all medical issues. When we reach the base I will have a doctor look at both of them. I will have Private Hitchcock's ankle x-rayed if need be, it may be broken."

"Suit yourself Captain, but we still aren't talking."

One of the Captain's men found the pebbles and brought them to Dietrich's attention. At his raised eyebrow Troy smiled and shrugged. "Just in case we get thirsty; we all carry them. You do remember how handy one was when we got caught by those slave traders?"

Dietrich did remember the stone they had shared. He hoped that no one else knew, it seemed too intimate a thing for men to do; but it had helped to keep them alive. With a curt nod he ordered his men to allow the Allied soldiers to keep the small pebbles.

The four prisoners were bound and escorted to the halftracks. Dietrich had them separated, each one to a different vehicle. Troy was helped into the rear of the lead halftrack, the one that Dietrich rode in. The Captain climbed into the front seat and waited patiently until everyone was ready. It didn't escape his notice that both of the younger prisoners needed help to climb into the vehicles. Shaking his head at Troy's stubbornness, he ordered his column to move out.

"Sergeant."

Troy turned his head to look toward Dietrich.

"Where did you think you were going?"

Troy shrugged and grinned. "Away from you."

"For that you would condemn all of your men to death? Am I that bad?" The Captain seemed genuinely confused.

Troy paused to give the question some thought. "You're not so bad Captain; we've been captured by worse. I guess if we had to get captured we could have done a lot worse. At least you treat us like were human instead of animals."

"Like rats?"

"Yeah," Troy laughed, "like rats."

The Captain smiled at the compliment. "Thank you, I'm honored, I think."

"Don't be captain; I'd prefer not to be a captured at all."

Dietrich smiled again at the admission. "About your men, it would be no trouble at all to have a doctor look at them."

"Like you said Captain, it can wait. What they need most is rest. Maybe after we get settled in our new quarters I'll let the medics take a look at them."

"Let them?"

"They're still my men." Troy answered

Dietrich shook his head again. He doubted if he would ever meet anyone who could beat the sergeant in unmitigated gall. "When we get to my base I will personally escort you to your new quarters."

"Thank you Captain, that's real nice of you, as Tully would say." Troy yawned and lapsed into silence. He shifted his position so that his bound hands were in the corner and he could rest his shoulders against the metal. "I'm just going to take a nap while you get on with directing this column. I wouldn't want to distract you so you get lost or get attacked by bandits or anything."

"How considerate of you." The Captain said sarcastically.

Troy didn't turn his head as he smiled and nodded. "That's me, considerate."

Dietrich watched as the sergeant's eyes closed and his breathing slowed. He snorted in amusement at the sergeant's antics. The infernal man always amazed him by getting in the last word. Turning back in his seat, he decided to get back to commanding his column so they didn't get lost or attacked by bandits.

"It was nearly dark when the column finally reached the base. Captain Dietrich kept his promise and personally escorted the prisoners to their cell. The privates still looked rather sick so he sent a runner to bring the doctor.

He stood at the end of the corridor and watched as Troy and Moffitt tried to make the younger rats comfortable. The sergeant gently untied the rubber strips holding the piece of wood in place. He tossed the wood under the cot along with the rubber strips. The private grimaced as the pressure was released. Troy rolled up the pant leg to reveal the swollen limb. Even from where he stood Dietrich could see the bruises. The doctor arrived and Dietrich sent him to the cell.

The guards pushed the two sergeants to the back of the cell while the doctor examined the privates. He examined Tully first, showing concern when he learned of the privates earlier wounds. After a thorough exam, he gave Moffitt instructions on his care. Then he turned to Hitch to examine the ankle. He left out a soft 'ah' at the sight of the bruise. He ordered the guards to fetch cold water and some soft cloths. He instructed Moffitt to keep cold compresses on the ankle and to keep it elevated. The doctor stood and dropped a small bottle of pills on the cot. Telling Moffitt they were for pain, he made sure that the sergeant knew how many to give each wounded man. At the sergeant's acknowledgement, the doctor packed his medical bag and left the cell.

"How are they doctor?" Dietrich questioned the doctor as the man paused in front of him.

"The forced walk in the heat has weakened them. They have both suffered injuries besides the heat exhaustion and dehydration. The one with the sprained ankle should stay off of his feet. I left them some pain medicine and told their sergeants to keep the leg elevated."

"Will they be all right?"

"Certainly Captain. They both need rest. I'm sure you will see a marked improvement in a day or so."

Dietrich nodded. "Thank you Doctor, please continue to monitor their condition."

"As you wish Captain." The doctor acknowledged the order and left to return to the hospital.

Dietrich watched him go, already planning who he would send as an escort when he sent the prisoners to the POW camp. One of his aides arrived and handed him a message. Dietrich read it and nodded at the messenger. He looked back at the cell where Moffitt was helping Troy elevate Private Hitchcock's leg. With one final warning to his men to stay alert, he went to handle the many responsibilities of running a large base.

The convoy that they had rescued was just pulling into the base as Dietrich reached the street. He counted the trucks as they passed, noting the many large caliber bullet holes that marked their sides. Once again less than half the cargo had been safely delivered. Dietrich shook his head, now that he had the Rat Patrol in his cells maybe this would become an unusual occurrence rather than the norm. He had been hunting the commandos after receiving a report on a sighting but it had been only coincidence that they had caught them in the act of attacking the convoy. He admitted that they were distracted when his column had attacked and disabled their jeeps.

The Captain didn't know it, but Tully had been correct when he suggested that maybe the German gunners had been practicing. Dietrich had had them out shooting at targets every chance he got. He was tired of the small pesky vehicles making his columns the laughing stock of the region. He was tired or the jeeps escaping undamaged while his own trucks were shot full of holes. He made a mental not to congratulate the gunners who had damaged the jeeps.

Right now he had to see to the unloading of the remaining cargo. The medics were taking the wounded to the hospital while a special detail collected the dead. As the bodies were taken away one of the sergeants handed Dietrich a hand full of dog tags. More letters to write. More loved ones to receive the most horrible news possible. It was the most dreaded task of a commanding officer but Dietrich refused to pass it off to a junior officer. He always tried to learn a little bit about each individual casualty so he could add a personal remark in each letter. He knew it was not much consolation but it was the best that he could do. It was his most sincere wish that he never had reason to write even one more of those letters. Captain Dietrich was thoroughly tired of war.

"The medical supplies made it through Captain."

"Thank you sergeant. Make sure that they ae delivered immediately. I know they are short on supplies and with these new casualties they will need them."

"Yes sir."

Dietrich watched a driver climb into the truck and head for the hospital. The big white cross on the side of the truck drew his attention and got him to thinking. The German high command preferred that the trucks with the medical supplies be unmarked. They felt the white cross made them a target for either hijacking or destruction. They thought the Allies would go out of their way to deny the German soldiers medical care. Dietrich had found just the opposite to be true. Ever since he had ordered the cross painted on the truck his medical supplies had made it through almost untouched. Before that he had lost more than got through.

His thoughts turned to his prisoners. It hadn't escaped his notice that the trucks that were damaged were on the convoys hit by planes or damaged by landmines. The convoys attacked by the Rat Patrol nearly always brought the medical supplies to the base intact. The marksmanship of the Allies put his own gunners to shame. It only seemed fitting that the Allied soldiers should receive medical care after sparing the supplies used to treat them. He appreciated their restraint since his own men benefitted greatly from their consideration.

He laughed as he remembered Troy saying he was a considerate man. He was tempted to ask the sergeant why they spared the supplies while others didn't but he knew that as long as Troy was a prisoner he would most likely not give a serious answer. The sergeant tended to use sarcasm to combat his feelings of frustration. If the captain had his way, and things were looking promising, the question would soon be moot. The Rat Patrol wouldn't be sparing any more supplies, or destroying it either. He would miss the word games with the sergeant.

"Did any of the fuel make it through?"

"Yes sir." One of his men responded. He held out a clipboard for the captain to review. Using a finger he pointed to the line that listed the fuel trucks. "Two trucks carrying barrels of fuel made it through. Their drivers said the jeeps were chasing them when your column drove the Americans away. They wanted me to thank you for your help."

"No need." Dietrich waved it off. "Just get that fuel unloaded and under cover before an Allied plane comes along and blows it up. We need it."

"Yes sir, we only have one more truck to unload here."

"Forget this one until after the fuel is unloaded. Put every man you have on it."

The sergeant nodded and started to turn away.

"Sergeant." Dietrich sighed as the long day hit him. Knowing that the men were just as tired, he made a decision. " If you need anything I'll be in my office. Have the complete list of supplies brought to me as soon as it is finished." The sergeant prepared to leave again. "Sergeant, it's almost time for the evening meal, and I know the men are tired."

The sergeant nodded, not sure where the captain was going with his line of thought.

"After they finish unloading the fuel, allow the men to take a break and eat. They can unload the last truck after they finish eating."

"Thank you sir."

Dietrich inclined his head at the show of gratitude. He turned and headed for his office where his own meal would be delivered. He had a lot of reports to catch up on before he could arrange transportation for his special prisoners.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Little Understanding**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 3

"How are you feeling Hitch?"

"Okay Sarge."

"Can you walk on that leg?"

"Sure Sarge, it's not as bad as it looks." Hitch kept his eyes on the guard as he whispered to the sergeant. "It wouldn't look this bad if someone hadn't hit it with a rifle butt."

Troy smiled and glanced over a Moffitt. "How's Tully doing?"

Moffitt just nodded. Tully tensed under the sergeant's hand but remained motionless with his eyes closed.

"How are you planning on doing this Sarge?" Hitch indicated the second guard who stood at the far end of the corridor. "We'll have to get them both at once."

"I'm working on a plan."

"Will this help?" Hitch pulled his hat off and reached inside. When his hand came out there was a small penknife in his palm.

"Where did you get that?" Troy asked, reaching for the knife.

"I hid it in there when you told us to drop our weapons. I figured the slingshot might not be enough. That is why you took the slingshot apart and used it to wrap my ankle?"

Troy grinned. "We still have all of the parts, don't we? Dietrich even let us keep the pebbles. That was very considerate of him." Troy turned his back to the corridor and whispered to Tully. "Do you think you could hit that guard at the end of the corridor?"

Tully turned his head to the side and peeked at the guard through half closed eyelids. "Sure Sarge," he whispered, "piece of cake."

"All right, let me put this slingshot back together. Hand me that piece of leather I gave you."

Moffitt dug in Tully's pocket and pulled out the small swatch of leather. While Troy reassembled the slingshot Moffitt discreetly collected all of the pebbles and dropped them into Tully's pocket.

"Okay, we'll have to draw the guard over here where we can grab him. When I give the word Tully can hit the one at the end of the corridor. Once we get clear we'll find some transportation and get off this base. Dietrich's been a kind host but our reservation is about to run out." Troy glanced at his watch. "It's almost meal time. We'll try to get out while most of them are at the mess hall. They'll be bringing our meals soon; we'll have to wait until after they leave again. Once we're back to two guards we'll make our move."

"You mean we're going to miss supper?" Hitch quipped.

"You can stay for supper if you want." Troy whispered.

"Forget it Sarge." Hitch hissed. "I've heard the reviews and I've sampled the fare, I'll pass."

"Okay then," Troy laughed, "We'll wait for our chance and we'll check out of this hotel."

"Should we leave housekeeping a tip?" Moffitt asked with a smile.

"Sure." Troy answered. "Why not? Write them a note and tell them not to eat the food."

The others chuckled and sat back to save their strength for when the opportunity presented itself. Tully slid the slingshot under his shirt and took a nap.

The sound of their meal being delivered woke them up. Troy checked to make sure that all of his team was ready. One guard shoved the trays through the bars while the other stood watch. Troy waited for them to step back before he stepped forward to reach for the food.

"You're not going to eat that are you?" Hitch asked in surprise.

"Only the good parts." Troy grinned.

"Which part would that be."

"I'll let you know when I find it."

They joked around for several more minutes while they waited for the extra guards to leave the building. Despite their joking each of them ate at least part of their meals because they had no idea when they would get another chance. Once they were sure that the extra Germans were gone, Troy gave a nod.

Moffitt made a show of waking Tully while Troy pretended to be helping Hitch to the pot in the corner of their cell. Tully staggered to the bars, reaching for his tray of food. The guard shifted his eyes from one pair of prisoners to the other.

Hitch took a step and cried out, falling to the floor. The guard rushed to the bars for a better look at what was happening. Tully pulled up the slingshot and took aim.

The guard paused at the sight of the slingshot. Before he could process what he was seeing Troy reached through the bars and pulled him close. Placing the penknife against his throat, he hissed at him to be quiet.

Tully let go of the pebble in his fingers. It flew true, hitting the second guard in the face. The guard dropped his weapon and covered his face with both hands. With a tiny sigh, he slumped to the floor and lay still.

"Moffitt, tell him to give me the keys." Troy held the frightened guard tightly, ready to silence him if he tried to make a sound.

The British sergeant translated the order along with a warning to cooperate or else.

The guard nearly dislocated a shoulder reaching for the keys in his pocket. Hitch grabbed the keys and unlocked the door. Moffitt picked up the guard's rifle while Hitch helped Troy move the guard into the cell. Tully rushed down the corridor to make sure that the second guard wouldn't cause them any trouble. He returned carrying a second rifle and shook his head when Troy looked over at him.

"What about this guy?" Hitch asked, jerking his head toward their prisoner.

"Knock him out; we'll be long gone before he wakes up."

Hitch nodded and turned to the guard. The soldier apparently didn't speak English because he pulled away and cried out as Hitch turned to him. The blond used the edge of is hand to drop their captive. He caught him before his head hit the floor, lowering him to the ground. "It's getting crowded in here Sarge. I vote we let him have the room and we find some place more to our liking." Hitch grinned at the sergeant.

"Anyone have any objections?" When no one spoke up Troy grinned. Turning back to his driver he smiled. "Don't forget to lock the door on your way out."

"Right Sarge."

They left Hitch locking the door while the other three made their way to the end of the corridor to check their escape route. When Hitch joined them he was laughing.

"What's so funny?" Troy demanded as Moffitt looked on.

"I locked the door of the room across from us too."

"So?"

"I threw the keys in there."

Moffitt chuckled. "That should give them a headache."

Troy shook his head from side to side. "I can't take you anywhere. They never invite us back." He deadpanned mournfully.

"I wouldn't count on it Troy." Moffitt smiled. "Dietrich is rather persistent."

"Where to now Sarge?" Tully's question brought the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Let's go see if anyone left their vehicle unattended."

The four men crept from one corner to another. Tully was doing all right but Hitch was limping badly before they had gone very far.

"Tully, you stay with Hitch while Moffitt and I go find us a ride. If we have to run he may not be able to keep up."

Tully nodded, looking worriedly at his best friend.

"We'll be right back." The sergeants faded into the shadows while Hitch and Tully looked for a place to take shelter.

"Hey Hitch, look at that."

Hitch looked over to see Tully pointing toward a door to what looked like an underground bunker.

"I'm going to go take a look."

Hitch nodded. "Okay but be careful."

Tully nodded. Slipping away from the wall, he crossed the street to the door. Easing his way inside, he stared at the barrels of fuel piled from wall to wall. With a grin Tully looked around the bunker. He found some oil soaked rags piled in a corner. Tying the rags together, he formed a long string of material. He quickly opened one of the barrels and dipped the rags into the fuel. Leaving one end in the barrel, he created a giant Molotov cocktail. Stretching the string of rags out as far as it would go; he stuffed some papers under the end and took the matchstick from his mouth.

A sound from outside caught his attention. Slipping to the door, he looked out. A large truck was coming toward them. He looked for Hitch. The blond had ducked behind some baskets stacked in the alley. Tully pushed the door shut until only a crack remained. He watched to make sure that whoever was in the truck did not spot Hitch.

"Sarge!"

Hitch stepped out of the alley and hobbled toward the truck. Troy leaned out of the passenger side window and waved for the blond to crawl in the back.

Tully turned and scraped his match against the stone. As the tiny flame came to life he touched it to the paper. The little column of flame caught the rags and Tully watched as the oily smoke began to climb the rag string headed toward the barrel and its contents. Turning, Tully ran for the truck.

Troy looked around for Tully but didn't see him.

"Hitch, where's Tully?"

"Over there Sarge." Hitch pointed toward the bunker.

Troy reached for the door handle, ready to jump out and go search for his missing man. Tully saved him the trouble. He ran out of the bunker and ran for the back of the truck. When he got there he helped Hitch up and climbed in after him. He stood by the tailgate and reached around the side to wave Moffitt on. The truck started moving, throwing Hitch against the boxes stacked in the bed. Tully caught him and they moved deeper into the rear so that no one would spot them from the outside.

"What was in there Tully?" Hitch asked as they crouched below the tailgate.

"Barrels of fuel. Lots of it."

"What did you do?"

"Do you have any hot dogs? There's going to be an awful big bonfire here before very long."

Hitch laughed.

The guard at the gate watched as the truck drove toward him. He stepped to the center of the gate and put up a hand to halt the truck. In the dark he couldn't see the driver so he was caught by surprise when the truck picked up speed and drove right at him. He rolled to the side to avoid being run over. Jumping to his feet, he tried to shoot at the fast moving vehicle. When he rolled he got sand in the mechanism of his gun and now it jammed. He was trying to clear it when the explosion knocked him off of his feet.

The guard turned toward the base and stared in amazement at the flames shooting out of the fuel bunker. More explosions followed the first, shaking the ground beneath his feet.

There was a rush of people suddenly filling the street as men came to investigate the fire.

Captain Dietrich pushed his way to the front of the crowd to watch the fire. "What happened?"

"I don't know." The sergeant in charge of unloading the fuel answered. "Everything was fine when we put the last of the fuel in there. We were just sitting down to eat when we heard the explosion."

"Captain!"

Dietrich turned at the call.

"One of our trucks just left the base Sir. I tried to stop it but it nearly ran me down. My rifle jammed or I would have fired on it."

"Don't you keep your rifle clean?" Dietrich asked angrily, looking toward the gate.

"Yes sir." The guard answered. "I clean it every day. It got sand in it when I rolled away from the truck."

Dietrich turned to look at the guard. The soldier returned his look with full eye contact. Nodding his head, Dietrich accepted the explanation. A sudden thought occurred to him and he turned and left without another word, running toward the prisoner's cells.

The soldiers who entered ahead of him nearly tripped over the body of the dead guard. Fearing the worst, Dietrich approached the cell where the other guard lay sprawled on the floor. The boy was barely out of his teens. Dietrich dreaded writing the letter. To his surprise, the boy groaned and stirred. As the captain stood outside the cell the boy rolled over and looked up at him.

The Captain knelt next to the bars. "Are you all right?"

The boy nodded, rubbing his neck where he had been hit. "I thought they were going to kill me."

"What happened?"

"They had a knife." The guard went on to explain in detail what had transpired. "I'm sorry Captain, I failed you."

"It's not your fault. I should have assigned more guards. I'm just glad you weren't hurt." Dietrich looked around the floor. "Do you know where they left the keys?"

"Over here Captain." Someone called. He pointed to a ring of keys on the floor of the cell across the corridor. "It's locked too Captain. We can't reach the keys."

Dietrich sighed and looked back at the boy. "You may as well get comfortable, you're going to be in there a while."

After barreling through the gate Moffitt kept the truck moving as fast as was possible in the dark. Troy and Moffitt plotted their course using a map they found in the truck.

"I don't think they're following us." Troy made the comment after watching the desert behind them.

"Perhaps they have something more important to keep them busy." Moffitt suggested. "Did you hear that explosion just after we left?"

"Yeah, I wonder if Tully could tell us anything about that."

"I don't really want to stop yet to ask, do you?"

"No, not yet. We'll keep moving for a bit longer. If we don't see anyone in an hour or so we can stop then."

Two hours later Moffitt pulled the truck to a stop and he followed Troy around the back. Tully jumped down and helped Hitch out as the sergeants stood waiting.

"We're going to stop for a few minutes. Take this chance to stretch your legs." The two privates nodded and began to walk off. "Tully." Tully stopped and looked back at the sergeant. "Do you know anything about that explosion we heard just after we left the base?"

Tully grinned. "Yep. It was a big one wasn't it?"

"Do you know what it was?"

Tully nodded with a big grin. "I found where they stored their barrels of fuel. I don't think they have any anymore."

Troy looked toward Moffitt to see him smiling. "That explains why no one came after us. They can't afford to use up their fuel chasing us."

Troy laughed. "I guess we can stop and rest a while then. Too bad they didn't have any food in the truck."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that Sarge." Hitch smiled widely.

"What?"

Hitch pulled the canvas away from the tailgate of the truck. The entire rear of the truck was stacked floor to ceiling with boxes, boxes of rations.

"It may not be good food, but we can eat."


End file.
